An evaluation of water absorption of Giomer in comparison to other resin-based restorative materials

Abstract

Background: Polymeric composites have been widely used as dental restorative materials. A fundamentalknowledge and understanding of the behavior of these materials in the oral cavity is essential to improve theirproperties and performance. The goal of this study was to measure water sorption of four composite resinscontaining different filler and resin matrix contents.Materials and method: Resin composite specimens giomer (Beautifil II) Filtek™ P90, Filtek™ Z350 XT, and Tetric NCeramwere prepared in a cylindrical mould of 3mm thickness and 6mm diameter (n=10) and light cured . Allspecimens placed in silica-gel desiccators at 37˚C for seven days, a constant weight was obtained. All samples wereimmersed in deionized distilled water at 37˚C and weighed at suitable time interval once a week for 30 days. Watersorption was calculated based on ISO 4049. Data were subjected to student t- test.Results: Silorane and Giomer composites showed the lowest values of water sorption, while Z350 and Tetric N-Ceramdisplayed the highest values at a period of 4 weeks.Conclusion: Each resin- matrix composite varied in water sorption which may affect clinical service. The attainedwater sorption values are mainly influenced by the generic type of material and variations occurring betweenmaterials of the same type may result from differences in resin matrix compositions